On My Level: Okita vs Ahatake
Gleaming Beak Ahatake was ducking and parring blows from a Shadow Clone of himself. He had been training almost non-stop since he brought the girls back from their training mission, intent on becoming stronger. He ducked as the clone made a swipe for his neck and he thrust his hand into it;s gut, causing it to disperse. As soon as he did so, the sound of clapping hands was heard, along with his wife's voice. "I see you're still intent on training your ass off..." She commented, putting on a small smirk. "Yeah, and I ain't stopping now." Ahatake said, forming a seal. "Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!!!!" He cried, and a blast of smoke surrounded them, and at least 1,000 Ahatake's were standing all around them. Now she knew it was going to take a while. She rolled her eyes, but simply turned her back and walked off. If she knew anything about her husband, it was that he'd practice until he dropped dead... though, hopefully not literally, as the daughters wouldn't be too pleased about it. The Ahatakes all charged at Ahatake himself and all hell broke loose and soon anyone watching wouldn't be able to distinguish the real Ahatake from the clones even with Sharingan. Random smoke blew out at places, signs of clones dispersing, and in about 10 minutes, Ahatake had finished off each clone and was left fighting two. Ahatake drew his sword, slashing both of these clones in half. He fell to one knee. He was out of chakra and he needed to call it quits. He stumbled towards the house and opened the door. "I-I'm done!" He groaned, sitting down at the table. "Yeah, I can tell." From her lounging position on the couch, Chiaki looked him over. "Though, I'm surprised to see you aren't dead..." She mused. "I will be soon." Ahatake groaned. "Unless I eat something and recover my chakra." Chiaki shrugged. "Go heat up the leftovers from yesterday. Food's gotta go someplace, and it sure ain't the trash." Ahatake laughed as he walked into the kitchen and began to grab random articles of food and heat it up. It took several trips to deliver it all from the kitchen to the table, but when he did the table was full, and creaking under the weight of the food. He instantly began to eat, reaching for random articles of food and eating noisily. At the sight, Chiaki instantly sweatdropped. "Jeezus... didn't know that there were that much leftovers!" She exclaimed. "Kneiferdaye!" Ahatake said through a mouthful of food, so his speech was not intelligible. Rolling her eyes, Chiaki turned away and returned to her lounging position. "Eat as much as ya want... just don't make too much of a mess." Ahatake continued to eat quickly, piling up plate after plate, until he had finished, which had taken a remarkably short amount of time. He lied back in his chair, sighing. "Might as well rest for a bit." After a few minutes, Chiaki finally allowed herself to get up from the couch, walking over to take a seat beside Ahatake. "You know..." She said quietly. "If you ever do meet Okita again, you realize he's gonna be much tougher than some Shadow Clones...right?" It wasn't a statement of respect for the Soujirou boy. It was her attempt at being logical, in order to help her husband prepare for what was to come. "I know that." Ahatake replied. "But creating Shadow Clones divides your chakra, so in essence you're fighting a tough opponent in a weakened state, which is a good skill to have I'd think." The orange-haired beauty closed her eyes in thought. "I suppose you have a point there..." She commented. "Just makin' sure you knew what you were headed against. No one wants to rush in half-cocked." "Don't worry about me." Ahatake said grinning. "I intend to win." Chiaki couldn't help but put on a small grin as well. "Not to mention survive. No one wants this to result in that "death draw" crap, either." She added helpfully. "I'm not gonna die." He said, still grinning. "S'not possible." "Oh, get off your high horse." Chiaki rolled her eyes, folding her arms across her chest. "You should know that anyone in combat has a chance of getting themselves killed. To say your death's not possible would be a total joke." "Then start laughing." Ahatake said simply. "Now, I'm going to walk off this food. I'll be back in about an hour." "Don't get yourself into trouble...we have enough with the daughters as it is." "Alright." Ahatake replied. "Don't worry." He vanished with that last word running out the door. He ran through the forest leaping from tree to tree. Despite saying he was going for a walk, he had another goal. Find Okita and kill him now. Second Coming SLASH! NEIGH!!! A distance away, chaos had taken place. Crowds of people that had flocked for what seemed like a celebratory gathering were now screaming and running away for their lives. A carriage pulled by horses had suddenly gone out of control at the place where it was supposed to stop, the carrier horses having panicked and ripped away from their bindings. Then, a figure fell from the car, stained in crimson, and missing its head. Another figure, with calm and slow steps, hefted out of the carrier in order to inspect the kill. It was Okita. He was holding a sharp dagger made for assassination, the blade dipped in red. Without word, he flung it around to fling off the blood, sheathed it in its respectable sheath, and started to walk off towards what seemed like a random direction. Ahatake gripped a branch with both hands and flung himself from it. To anyone watching from below he'd have appeared to be flying. "Hm?" That was when a shadow loomed over the assassin's head, and he looked up with calm surprise. His eyes looked on, as he saw what appeared to be a flying... person? In the sky. His feet stopped, allowing his eyes to watch the figure with ease. Ahatake quickly formed seals. "Fire Release: Flame Bullet!" Ahatake spit out oil gathered in his mouth using chakra, and igniting it with a Fire Release Technique, creating a giant fireball that hurtled towards Okita. Ahatake's eyes widened. He caught the smell of blood. Not only that, he could begin to hear screams. "I'll bet I know who's doing this." He growled. Slowly, the smile slid across Okita's face. Once again, his hand gripped the hilt of the dagger and slowly pulled it out, holding it in a back-handed position. Then, he slid himself in to a crouch position... The next second, he was gone. Now, he was off to the side of the aerial Tenno, giving him squinted eyes and a genuine smile. His dagger was swung, plunging towards the exposed side. Yet, when he spoke, his words still held no hostility as he greeted his opponent. "Hello, Tenno-sama." A kunai flew from Ahatake's sleeve and he swung it just in time to block the dagger. "Hello yourself Okita." Then, they descended. Okita pulled himself back from the knife-lock and landed expertly on his feet, standing up straight to look over at his descending opponent. "We have to stop meeting like this..." He said amiably, looking over at the headless corpse. "It's just not sanitary." Ahatake scowled as the kunai whipped back into his sleeve, looking at the aforementioned corpse. "Why did you do this?" "That man was a gang leader, respected highly by the citizens here. But, as his position was, he was considered to be very corrupt and manipulative. His teachings had to be silenced somehow..." Okita explained, using motions towards the corpse for emphasis. "It's a shame, though. The villagers will panic at one of their leaders' death, fearing the unknown assassin who took his life." "And you couldn't have taken him to the Konoha Detention Center? You had to kill him?" "Please realize, Tenno-sama, my position in this world. I'm not part of the law of the villages that keep peace. My acts in the past have determined my fate long ago, the fate of a killer. I do not hold that sense of morality and humanity you do, and as such, I see simple imprisonment as worthless. The sins of one can only be purified by death." "And so shall your sins, Okita." Ahatake growled. "Your journey ends here." Cut Loose In reply, Okita took his own stance, hand on the hilt of his katana this time. "In that case, please don't hold back." He said calmly. "It would be rather insulting if we treated each other like weaklings here..." "Don't hold back?" Ahatake asked, his Cursed Seal spreading over his body, his eyes turning black and yellow but maintaining a Level 1 state. "I never intended to." "....Nani?" Once again, a flicker of surprise appeared on Okita's face as he stared at the transformation taking place. A flashback raced through his head of the duel he had with Kairu Hichimo, recognition filling his soul. With that feeling of recognition, he mentally summarized the effect of the markings. His opponent had just enhanced himself physically. Ahatake clenched his fists. "Koyuki...Kurochi.. this is for you guys.." He thought, as he vanished and reappeared in front of Okita, swinging his blade up. Immediately, Okita's heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively raised his sword to block the sudden attack. But the newfound difference in physical strength had broken his defenses immediately, and his blade was forced down to the ground. Without hesitation, he leaped back, away from Ahatake in order to gain some distance. "Such an increase in speed... just how much power do those marks give him?" An aura of purple chakra rose in spirals around Ahatake as he looked at Okita with pure anger on his face. "I'm fast but I'm not sure I can't match him yet..I'll have to use that if it turns out I am right." Ahatake thought as the gripped an explosive kunai and thew it at Okita. "Tch!" Overcoming his shock, he kicked into speed, vanishing out of the kunai's path. Then, repeating Ahatake's own movements, he re-appeared behind the man, one hand slightly under the hilt of his katana, and one under the hilt and holding nothing. However, as he swung down, his free hand gripped the hilt and swung down, adding strength to his attack. "Kenjutsu: Descending Claw!" Ahatake's vanished, the attack barely missing him and dropped down from the air with his sword, ready to cut Okita in half. Okita lunged back, feeling the wind of the blade swipe hit his forehead and remind him just how lucky he was to be alive. He jumped back a few more steps and readied his blade, only for his eyes to widen as he felt something warm and wet drip down the center of his forehead to the bisection of his right cheek. With a free hand, he lifted a finger and touched where he had felt it. Blood. Ahatake materialized in front of Okita and raised his blade. "Good-bye..Ghost of the Mist.." He swung his blade down on Okita's head. SLASH! At first, there was only silence, a dead moment of the aftermath. Then, blood dripped down and stained the ground once more. Okita's body skidded back on one foot, both arms held out slightly as if to keep his balance until he finally stopped. Now a new cut had formed - a large slash mark could be seen through his clothing, from the shoulder and down to the midsection. Once again, it proved to be a minor cut - but thanks to the size, it was hurting like crazy. He panted heavily, sweat dripping down his face. It wasn't the pain of the wound that was making him do so, nor was it the exertion that it took to get himself away from Ahatake's attack. It was that feeling of apprehension, a sense of fear that was built up in humanity. The fear that he could've possibly died right then. "Seems you are as fast as I thought." Ahatake said, sheathing his sword. "Looks like I'll have to take it up a notch." Okita could only stare on with wondering eyes, his sword raised defensively with both hands on the hilt. Of course, he had been familiar with the sheathing of the sword before an attack. He had done so himself, before he had delivered that grievous wound to the Tenno before. "Surely... you haven't learned battojutsu as well?" He questioned. "No." Ahatake replied. "But thanks for the reminder." He bent down and slightly pulled up the legs of his pants, revealing weights on his ankles. He unbuckled them each, and breathed in and out. He dropped both of them, and they caused a huge crater where they landed. Okita's eyes fell on the weights at that moment, nodding slightly in realization. "So, you've been restraining your speed with those ankle weights." He deduced, bringing his gaze up into Ahatake's eyes. "No doubt you'll be faster than before. However... are you so sure you can control such speed? That your body won't break under such friction with the air?" "I'll deal with it." Ahatake replied, tensing himself. He created three Shadow clones and all three drew their swords. Each Ahatake began to make complicated movements as they moved towards Okita, blades drawn and raised. As Okita raised himself into a defensive stance, his eyes followed the movements he could, his body tensing slightly as he prepared for the oncoming attack. Without eyes such as the Sharingan or Byakugan, he could not decipher the clones from the real one. He would just have to take them all on cautiously. The moment all three clones closed in on Okita, they swung their blades down. His figure vanished once more, only to re-appear slightly above the ground from where he was standing. His hand balanced on the hilt of his sword, which was currently stuck downwards into the ground, he launched a thrusting kick into one clone's chest, dispelling it with ease. Using that as a booster, he swung himself around, his leg connecting with the neck of a second clone. The force knocked it into the third, dispelling them in one foul swoop. With all of them gone, he flipped to a standing position and pulled his sword from the ground. "Hmm..it do seems you've broken my clones." Ahatake said is a bored voice. He began to run in circles around Okita, creating afterimages as he ran. Kunai flew out from all directions, impossible to tell where they were coming from. Instantly, Okita took to the air, leaping above the circle and avoiding the kunai from skewering him into an early death. The smile had returned full-force on his face upon seeing such speed, and his eyes were narrowed slightly. Ahatake quickly formed seals. "Fire Release: Flame Bullet!" Ahatake spit out oil gathered in his mouth using chakra, and igniting it with a Fire Release Technique, creating a giant fireball that hurtled towards Okita. Once again, Okita raised his blade over his head, in the position of another ''Descending Claw''. Then, without hesitation, and a display of his own sword strength, he cut through the fireball and began his descent once more. Ahatake quickly moved a few paces back and coated his fist in flames. He charged at Okita, his fist wrenched back. "Night Phoenix!" He roared and threw his punch at Okita, coating his own body in flames. "Oh, no..." Eyes widening, Okita looked on in shock as he landed on his feet. With the distance closed between them, there was no way he was evading for a second attack. With reflexive speed, he sheathed his blade and twisted his body, unsheathing it once more for another technique. "Battōjutsu: Shuntensatsu!" The attacks collided, and the area was instantly enveloped in a blaze of fire... Under His Mercy When the attacks parted the Ahatake's right arm, the arm he used to attack with, was injured. The was a long gash from the hand to the shoulder. "Shi...shit.." At first glance, it looked like Okita had fared much better in the clash. His shirt having been completely burned off, and slight burn marks on the upper torso, he looked just as combat-effective as ever, sword clutched tightly in one of his hands. However, despite the smile on his face, and his squinted eyes, when he spoke again, it was clear he was intense pain. "That...w..was incredible..." He managed to say waveringly. "My sword arm...I can't move it due to the pain...." It was upon closer inspection that the arm with which he held the sword looked very stiff. The skin was a dark red, with clear-as-day black markings decorating it. The burns' effect on the nerves caused the muscles in his arm to tighten involuntary, increasing the pain of the attack. "No k..katatas it..seems..." Ahatake groaned, his cursed seal receding. With Okita's arm unmovable, and his tense muscles clutching the sword involuntarily, there was no way for him to switch the sword to the opposite hand. He had no kunai, or any other ninja tools on him, either. However, his opponent had one arm free, and with no weapon in the wounded hand, he could grab any weapon on his person and use it against the Soujirou with ease. He was helpless. Ahatake was panting. The wound in his arm seemed to much but he wasn't one to give up here. He could kill Okita. He gripped drew his own blade. He wasn't much for left handed strike but he had to try. He charged at Okita, slower than he was in his Cursed State but still fast enough. "Have this!" He cried and he swung his blade down at him. Death was imminent. Okita sighed heavily, closing his eyes. He held no regrets - he had done what he had needed to do to the letter, leaving nothing behind. He had performed his job as a warrior with success and relative ease. He wouldn't cry and run away like a coward - but he would face his executioner with pride and dignity. "Tou-san... Kaa-san... wait for me." He thought, one last smile forming on his face. "I'll meet you soon." Then, the blade swung down. CLANG! The sound, however, was not one of metal cutting flesh. It was the one of metal clashing into metal. Eyes widening, Okita opened them to stare at the scene between him. Instead of Ahatake's sword, there was another, slightly shorter figure that had come in between them. All he could see, however, was black and slightly curly hair, along with a brown trenchcoat. But that was all that was needed for him to recognize the stranger that had intervened. "It can't be...were you watching the whole time...?" Ahatake's eyes widened. "A little girl?" He jumped back quickly and sheathed his blade. "Who are you?" He asked. However, as soon as he had jumped back, the girl had turned her head to look over her shoulder at a stunned Okita. "You all right, Okita?" She questioned, a bit of concern shown in her voice. When he nodded his head slightly, she put on her own smile, eyes in the upside-down U shape. "You just can't do a thing without screwing yourself up, can you?" She teased. He could only afford to laugh sheepishly, slightly embarrassed. He was in no position to argue - he should've fled the battlefield with his speed rather than act relaxed and walk away, for it would've saved him the injuries he was suffering. Then, the girl turned back towards Ahatake, eyes narrowed, and a slight frown on her face. "Murakami Yumi." She stated, raising the kunai in her hand and pointing the tip at Ahatake. "And I think it'd be best if you stopped your assault and fell back." Her voice, although a bit soft, held firmness in it. Ahatake scowled, but he couldn't attack this girl. She had done nothing to him yet. He pulled his trenchcoat a littler more over his arm and turned to walk away. "I'll get you next time, Okita." He said grimly. "I won't stop until I've exacted my revenger for Koyuki and Kurochi. And good-day to you Murakami." Yumi allowed herself to close her eyes and slip the kunai back into its container. In acknowledgement to Ahatake, she nodded slightly, though not taking her eyes off of him. Ahatake vanished, breaking into a run, wincing slightly due to the pain in his arm. He'd have Chiaki heal it when he got home. When he finally vanished, Okita's smiling facade instantly vanished, replaced by a grimacing expression. With his vision growing ever so hazy, he fell to his knees, startling Yumi. Quickly, she rushed to his aid, putting one of her arms around his waist and his own arm around her shoulders. "Hang on, Soujirou!" She encouraged. Then, without hesitation, she took off into the forest, leaping from tree to tree. The End Prev | Next